After the recent approval of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Ecuador and China, which was ratified by the Constitutional Court (CC) on Wednesday, November 1, after a challenge process, now claims by the executive, in less than 30 days which is the time before the change of government , focus on signing the Strategic Economic Cooperation Agreement (SECA) with South Korea and closing the process that began in February 2022, when both nations signed a joint declaration to resume negotiations that had been stalled for six years since 2016.

The Constitutional Court has approved a trade agreement between Ecuador and China and is asking the executive to send it to the National Assembly as soon as it takes office

The agreement with China is the first fully ratified by the Court under this government, and will be sent to the next National Assembly for review and approval as soon as it takes office. Other agreements are pending, such as the one with Costa Rica, which has been partially approved and is awaiting ratification by the CC after correcting, with that Central American country, the objections raised by the organization; and that of South Korea, which already had its pre-signature in Seoul, last October 10, and is awaiting the final subscription.

When asked if the time is right for this Government to sign SECA, the Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries Daniel Legarda replied: “The goal is to prepare it.” He said this a few minutes after learning of the approval of the agreement with China last Wednesday.

Legarda and Bang Moon Kyu, South Korea’s Minister of Foreign Trade, were in charge of the pre-signing of the agreement in the Korean capital, as a prelude to the full ratification of the trade agreement.

Korea is the eleventh destination of Ecuadorian exports; Namely, in the last five years, sales on that market have been gradually growing with an annual average of 38 percent, according to the ministry’s data. With the agreement, Ecuador plans to increase the flow of trade and investment with Korea, aiming to increase non-oil exports to a market with more than 51 million inhabitants and a GDP per capita above $34,000.

With the signing of SECA, 98% of Ecuador’s current export supply, such as shrimp, cocoa, bananas, fishing, dairy products, among other products, is projected to enter the world’s twelfth economic power. In addition, it will enable the entry of new products, such as dragon fruit, mango and pineapple, into that market.

Another sector that will benefit enormously will be business and knowledge services. This accounts for almost 50% of GDP and corresponds to 45% of the workforce, about 1.9 million workers, mainly in tourism, transport, communications, courier and public and financial services.

This agreement, according to the Ministry of Production and Foreign Trade, is a comprehensive agreement and the most complete to date for Ecuador; It comprises 23 chapters covering goods and services, public procurement, intellectual property, e-commerce, cooperation for sectors such as agribusiness, manufacturing, fisheries, culture, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), among others.

Verónica Chávez, executive director of the Center for the Dairy Industry (CIL), indicated that South Korea requires various products and services from Ecuador, but especially food, and assured that the dairy industry can take advantage of the agreement. “There is an opportunity to export dairy products such as cheeses, yogurts and milk drinks to this big market,” Chávez said.

Ecuador and South Korea completed the pre-signing of a trade agreement

For her part, Olinka Vélez, manager of Café Vélez, a company that has been exporting its products to the South Korean market for the past seven years, predicts that the agreement will create many benefits for small and medium-sized enterprises that produce specialty coffees. “South Korea currently has more than 100,000 specialty coffee shops and there is real demand where we can grow sustainably. We don’t want to produce to sell; “We want to sell to produce,” Vélez said.

Meanwhile, Felipe Ribadeneira, president of the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters (Fedexpor), assures that the sector is looking forward to the signing of the agreement between Ecuador and South Korea. “Ecuador and South Korea are complementary economies. We import numerous raw materials and consumer goods, which enables us to grow exports to that same market,” explained the leader.

He also emphasized the joint work of the ministry with the fourth deputy. “We hope that this agreement will be used in the best way to create jobs and well-being for all of Ecuador,” concluded the head of Fedexpor.

For his part, Ingu Park, vice president of the Korean fishing company Dongwon Group, which has been operating in Ecuador for fifteen years, pointed out that, according to his experience, Ecuador is a country with strong production potential. “Ecuador is a suitable country, the best country to access the Latin American market. We have complementary economies,” he concluded.